Durbin Pays Tribute To Senators Cardin, Carper, Manchin, Stabenow, And Butler For Their Service In The U.S. Senate
WASHINGTON – In a speech on the Senate floor, U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today paid tribute to five Senators who will be retiring at the end of the 118th Congress—U.S. Senators Ben Cardin (D-MD), Tom Carper (D-DE), Joe Manchin (I-WV), Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), and Laphonza Butler (D-CA).
“The Biden-Harris Administration will go down in history as arguably the most productive and consequential administration in the last 75 years. They couldn’t have done it without a good partnership in Congress. Today, I want to thank five Senators who played key roles in the historic achievements of this Congress and many others. They include Chairs of four committees and one subcommittee and they will all be leaving when they finish up their work this month,” Durbin said. “I have more words of thanks for other departing colleagues and will deliver those soon. Collectively, these five Senators have given nearly 135 years of service to the United States Senate. They represent not only a good deal of this body’s institutional memory, but a large share of its heart and its conscience as well.”
On Senator Ben Cardin (D-MD), Durbin said: “Senator Ben Cardin served for 58 years in state and federal office. Through it all, Ben Cardin has been a pillar of decency, modesty, civility, and good-faith bipartisanship. As a longtime member, and now Chair, of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Ben Cardin has worked to place America’s most fundamental values, including human rights, at the center of our foreign policy… Recently, the Netherlands honored Senator Ben Cardin for his leadership with its Anne Frank Award for Human Dignity and Tolerance. In accepting that honor, Ben said, ‘we need to keep hope alive that with patience and persistence, we can create a world that is safe and peaceful and prosperous.’ Ben Cardin’s work in this Senate shows us how we can create just such a world.”
On Senator Tom Carper (D-DE), Durbin said: “He is moderate, bipartisan, and relentless. As Chair of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, Tom Carper helped lead the fight to pass the Inflation Reduction Act, the most significant investment ever, ever to tackle the climate crisis. The law also helped lower health care costs and energy costs and strengthen America’s energy security. What a combination… As the last Vietnam veteran serving in the United States Senate… Senator Tom Carper was a key force in passing many laws, including the Agent Orange Act of 2009, the PACT Act… and a measure I authored with him that allows the VA to provide modest compensation for family members serving as caregivers for severally injured veterans. Tom Carper has also encouraged a generation of young people to enter public service and run for office. Next month, one of those people, one of those public servants who got her start as an intern in a Congressional office that Tom Carper headed, will take his place in this body. Lisa Blunt Rochester will be the first woman and the first person of color Delawareans have ever sent to the United States Senate. Thanks, Tom, for showing her and countless others the importance and dignity of public service.”
On Senate Joe Manchin (I-WV), Durbin said: “As Chair of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee since 2021, Senator Joe Manchin has been a decisive force on America’s energy and environment agenda. He was a key player in passage of the Inflation Reduction Act. Independent analysis project that law will reduce U.S. carbon emissions by 40 percent by the year 2030, compared with 2005 if we give it a chance to work. Joe Manchin was elected to the Senate in 2010 to fill a legendary vacancy created by the death of Robert C. Byrd. And while he arrived here following the footsteps of a legend, he leaves behind some pretty big footprints himself.”
On Senator Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), Durbin said: “In the year 2000, Senator Debbie Stabenow became the first woman ever elected to the Senate from the State of Michigan. But as she says, it doesn’t matter if you’re the first unless there’s a second and a third. Her leadership and example have undoubtedly persuaded more women to run for and win public office, including in the Senate, and America is better for it, even if we still have a long way to go. As a longtime member, and now Chair, of the Senate Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry Committee, she wrote much of the bipartisan 2014 Farm Bill and co-authored the 2018 Farm Bill. There is no other Senator on the floor of this body who has the competence, skill, and track record of Debbie Stabenow in the field of agriculture, forestry, and nutrition. She is simply the expert, and has taught herself an arcane body of law to a degree most of us just don’t even comprehend… In addition, Senator Stabenow has been a leader in protecting one of our greatest natural resources, and I know this one as well—the Great Lakes, including her pivotal role last year in advancing the Brandon Road Interbasin Project, a project with a long name but a simple purpose—stop the invasion of carp into the Great Lakes, which would be devastating to the future of those great bodies of water… I’m proud to call Debbie my friend and colleague.”
On Senator Laphonza Butler (D-CA), Durbin said: “Finally, I want to acknowledge Senator Laphonza Butler. She was appointed just over a year ago to finish the term of the late Senator Dianne Feinstein. She took Senator Feinstein’s seat on the Senate Judiciary Committee and I was honored to Chair that Committee and work with her every time we met. Thoughtful, collegial, hardworking, you could always find her ready to proceed forward, as much time as it may take. She sought to advance the ideals of our nation and give voice to Americans facing critical challenges, from access to reproductive health care to voter suppression. She’s one of the youngest Senators, third Black woman and twelfth Black person to serve in this chamber, and the only Black person ever to Chair the Constitution Subcommittee. She’s brought an important new voice to our debates. We’re grateful for her new perspectives and distinguished service.”
Durbin concluded, “I’ll have more to say about other departing Senators. For now, I want to say to these Senators: it’s been an honor to serve with you, to work with you for the good of our nation and for the good of the world.”
Video of Durbin’s remarks on the Senate floor is available here.
Audio of Durbin’s remarks on the Senate floor is available here.
Footage of Durbin’s remarks on the Senate floor is available here for TV Stations.
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